It’s primary night in Kentucky and Oregon, Major reports on the expected outcome.  Carl is in Florida where McCain continued to charge the Democratic frontrunner is weak on foreign policy.

from www.hulu.com posted with vodpod

Obama calls criticism of spouses unfair, HRC says she will continue until there is a nominee, Major reports. Carl follows McCain as he accuses Obama of foreign policy inexperience.

from www.hulu.com posted with vodpod

At a trade and foreign policy event, hosted by the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council,presidential aspirant John Edwards hammered Bush’s foreign policy, and even took a swing at Fox News.

In describing how difficult it is for viable, Russian presidential candidates , who are not supported by Vladimir Putin, to receive media access in that country, Edwards brought up Fox News Channel.

” It’d be like running against Bush, when Bush owns the media, you know? ,” Edwards told the audience of over 300 people.

“Well, they do have Fox News.”

Interesting that on the same day that CNN was receiving criticism for their debate tactics that he would take a shot at FNC.

During the 45 minute session, Edwards was especially pugnacious against White House foreign policy under President Bush, discussing many contentious areas, including Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan. Edwards was in full attack mode. He said that the Bush policies negatively affected the United States ‘ standing around the globe, and was not representative of what most Americans believe. Bush, Edwards argued, had “dissed” and destroyed” America’s leadership role in the world.

” George Bush does not represent me, and I doubt he represents many people in this room”, Edwards said to applause.

Here are some highlights from Edwards last night:

Barack Obama held a foreign policy forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Tuesday to showcase Obama-friendly foreign policy experts, several of whom worked in the Clinton Administration. They were summoned by the campaign to discuss why they believe the junior senator from Illinois has the experience needed to be the leader of the free world.

Samantha Power, described by the campaign as a “Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned professor of human rights and foreign policy,” described Obama’s foreign policy approach as “fresh, unifying, and unbeholden.” Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the Navy under Bill Clinton, said Obama would be able to get away from “that inner-circle mentality” while Gen. Jim Smith (USAF Ret.) pointed out that Obama has “a world view; not just a Washington, DC view.”

Tony Lake, National Security Advisor to President Clinton, noted that Obama would present a “wonderful, new face to the world.” Lake said he didn’t understand why the candidate has been attacked for his lack of experience. “His experience it seems to me is greater, even the classic kind of experience, is greater than Bill Clinton’s when he ran for president, than the current president’s, than Ronald Reagan, than Jimmy Carter – I could go on an on,” Lake stated.

The forum came just a week after Obama was asked about his foreign policy credentials at a Clarion, Iowa, town hall meeting.

(more…)

Hudson, NH — Confronted by a New Hampshire voter about his plans for Iraq, Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that his strategy is simple, “victory.”

At a diner stop during the second day of his bus tour through the first primary state, Roger Latulippe, 67, queried Giuliani about his position–asking for more nuance from the Republican candidate.

“What is your plan to get our troops out of Iraq,” asked Latulippe, a self-described Democrat and supporter of an immediate troop withdrawal.

“Our plan is success–have success in Iraq. Victory,” Giuliani responded with his normal mantra on the stump, adding that the U.S. should stay in in Iraq for however long it takes “to win.”

Disgruntled with the answer, Latulippe continued to prod Giuliani for nearly two minutes. “Our young men and women are dying over there right now…..we would like victory too, but I want it sooner then later.”

The former New York City mayor was unmoved, saying that as far back as the Civil War, Americans became impatient with war after witnessing initial battle losses. “I don’t agree with that. I think it’s time for us to focus on winning in Iraq, giving our young men and women a chance to have victory on Iraq and success…and that’s a stable Iraq, in which they act as an ally for us in the war against terror. It would be a shame to pull them out and give (our troops) a loss,” he said.

Giuliani, who often says that the U.S. focuses too much time on Iraq rather than the overall war on terror, has also been critiqued by candidates from both parties for lacking substance and nuance when it comes to Iraq and his overall foreign policy. Republican Arizona Senator John McCain attacked Giuliani for lacking national security experience today during an appearance on Fox News Channel.

“I don’t know what experience he has…he has no national security experience that I know of. He has never been to Iraq. He was a member of the Iraq Study Group and was either fired or quit–from a very important commission that was trying to figure out the way forward in Iraq,” McCain said. (See Video)

Fox News Campaign Producer Mosheh Oinounou reports:

Peterborough, NH–Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani took a swing at Sen. Hillary Clinton Sunday for her plan to send emissaries to foreign countries immediately upon her election next November.

Clinton regularly tells supporters on the campaign trail that she will put an end to President Bush’s “cowboy diplomacy” and begin to restore America’s standing in the world with a pre-inaugural policy to send ambassadors around the world.

“I think it’s important that we conduct this debate in a way that we don’t interfere with the ability of the country to function in a proper way between now and (when the next President takes office),” Giuliani said at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire Sunday. “Hillary is not a president-elect last time I checked..Hillary is not even the nominee of the party. So, this is very, very premature to be talking about sending ambassadors all around the world, even before she becomes president to in essence interfere in the foreign policy of the United States.”

The decision to launch an attack on the Democratic front-runner, comes after a week where the Giuliani campaign often found themselves on the defensive on a number of fronts ranging from his position on water-boarding and torture to his announcement that he was supporting the Boston Red Sox in the World Series despite his lifelong allegiance to the rival Yankees.

(more…)